Sport Specific Information

He learned to swim at age five at a family pool in a housing compound in Saudi Arabia, where his father was working. He began open water swimming at age 19.

Why this sport?

Coach Ron Jacks introduced him to open water swimming.

Club / Team

Pacific Coast Swimming: Canada

Name of coach

Ron Jacks [club], CAN

General Interest

Hobbies

Hiking, playing video games, driving. (thestar.com, 15 Aug 2016)

Awards and honours

He was named Open Water Swimmer of the Year at the 2017 Swimming Canada Big Splash Awards. He was also named Swimming Canada's 2013, 2015 and 2016 Open Water Swimmer of the Year. (swimswam.com, 30 Sep 2016; swimming.ca, 11 Dec 2015; timescolonist.com, 27 Nov 2013; pacificcoastswimming.com, 24 Jan 2018)

He was named the 2016/17 Open Water Swimmer of the Year by Swim BC in Canada. (pacificcoastswimming.com, 25 Sep 2017)

He received the Open Water Swimmer of the Year award at the 2015 Olympic Excellence Series and Media Summit in Toronto, ON, Canada. (ca.news.yahoo.com, 11 Dec 2015)

Ambitions

To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (nationalpost.com, 16 Aug 2016)